KARACHI: Manufacturers claimed on Friday that smuggled Iranian cement, being sold at 40 per cent lower prices, was eating away the market share of domestically produced cement.
Markets in areas adjacent to the border and coastal areas of Balochistan are flooded with Iranian cement which sells for much less than the Rs525-550 price of a 50kg bag of local cement, All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) said.
In a letter to Federal Secretary Commerce Muhammad Shehzad Arbab, APCMA chairman Muhammad Ali Tabba urged the Ministry of Commerce to suspend cement imports through land routes into Pakistan, and further suggested the Iranian government to seek quality approval from Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) before imports could be resumed at statutory duties.
He said that smuggling of Iranian cement into Pakistan through land routes continues unabated.
Some 2,000 tonnes of Iranian cement smuggled into Pakistan through Taftaan, Post 250, and Mand customs check-posts, the association alleged.
It added that it happens in connivance with custom authorities, ‘who charge these duties for only a token small quantity’.
Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2015